The Tides of War
by PegMulcahy
Summary: Hermione was always meant to have much more involvement in the winning of the Second Wizarding war, she needed a little more incentive, the death of her parents, now she has the power and smarts to win this war on her own and maybe find a little love along the way, Major Molly and Ron bashing, Harry has lost his way but he will find his way back, after all she is family now
1. Chapter 1

Albus Dumbledore wasn't shocked to be woken in the early hours of the morning during the Summer, he would always be called when a student had used under age magic, what did surprise him, so much so that he was afraid of what they would find at the young witches home, he didn't want to go there on his own, and to be honest he was almost afraid of making his professors witness it, but Professor McGonnical was her head of house and Professor Snape was his go to in times of trouble, he wanted to get to Hermione Grangers house before the Ministry and Aurors, the girl wouldn't break the rules without cause. Minerva's breathing became frantic once they saw the Dark Mark floating in the sky above the Granger home, she shook her head,

"Mother of Merlin, Albus its starting again and they have started with Hermione, Albus I can't, I can't go in there and see another one of my lions dead, please" Minerva whispered as they walked up the path to the house, she couldn't shake the foreboding she was feeling, this seemed like history repeating herself, Albus grabbed her gently and shook her,

"Minerva, I need you to calm down, Hermione will need you, she will need you because she will be ok, we have to get in there" he said as he followed Snape into the house, Minerva took a deep breath and followed the two men into the house.

"Good Lord" Snape muttered as they stared around them,

There was scorch marks from spells gone array which meant there had been a fight and that gave them a little hope, as it wasn't too long after the underage magic, they heard the whimper, that made it solid in their view, Hermione was alive, but they weren't expecting what they saw when they turned the corner into what seemed to be the living area.

The room was a mess of broken furniture and blood, two bodies of whom they believed to be Hermione's parents were thrown to the side near the wall at the back, what surprised them that there were three known Death Eaters out cold and tied up,

"Granger did this" Snape muttered, they all knew that the young witch was smart, but to see that she was strong and obviously quick,

"Pettigrew" Minerva muttered as she looked at one of the men, Snape moved forward to identify another of the captured only to step back shocked,

"Barty Crouch Jr, he was reported to have died last year in Azkaban, how" he said, Albus looked at him with wide eyes and then moved to the third, turning him over,

"Rosier, my gods the girl has taken down two of the inner circle Severus" Albus said in an awed whisper, a whimper made them look around the room again and over in the corner by a strange box that Severus told them was a Muggle Entertainment device, they saw bloodied feet that were moving,

"Minerva will you, she may need a feminine touch" Albus said, motioning towards they hidden young girl, the Head of Gryffindor nodded and slowly made her way over to her prized pupal as the Aurors finally arrived, Albus had moved to quieten them, not wanting to hinder Minerva getting through to Hermione,

"Professor McGonnical is trying to get Miss Granger to come out of her hiding place, but as you can see, there are two Muggles dead by the wall, three Death Eaters including Peter Pettigrew, please take them away and cover the bodies before we get our student to come out, she has already been traumatised enough and please take care with the bodies," he said, Alistair Moody walked into the room then, he had heard of the alert and even though he was retired, he was to join Hogwarts as a teacher after the summer, so he thought himself needed for this matter,

"You heard him Davis, Creed get those scum back to the ministry, call for the Healer to bring her parents to St Mungo's for Autopsy" he snapped causing the two men to jump and do as they were told, each grabbing the Prisoners and dissapperating, Moody turned to the two men standing near him,

"A student did this, how old is she" he asked as he too watched Minerva kneel in front of the scared student,

"Not yet 14" Albus muttered,

"Hermione, Hermione I am so sorry that this has happened to you, but you need to come out so we can make sure that you are ok, we need to make sure that you are not badly injured" Minerva said softly, they all waited on baited breath,

"I had to, I had to, you have to believe me, I couldn't let them get away, they killed my parents, no they did more than that, they tortured them first and made me watch, so for them I couldn't let them go, they wanted, no he, he wanted to, he said he wanted to have some fun with me, I couldn't let him, you understand Professor, you know other whys I wouldn't have done it, I wouldn't have broken the rules, I had to stop them before they could hurt anyone else" she said, her voice was obviously raw from whatever amount of screaming she had done during the attack, everyone, even Snape's hearts broke at once, though they could see her being worried about being in trouble.

"Hermione, My dear I can assure you, you are not in any trouble, you are allowed to use magic when there is dire need of it, anyone who walked in here can see it, the Healers are going to bring your parents to St Mungo's, I can promise you that they will be looked after, those men have already been taken to the Ministry, you are safe now, you can come out and we will all go back to Hogwarts where we can have Madam Pomphrey check you out, you know her, she will look after you" she told her, she blinked when Hermione snorted,

"Barty Crouch Jr, Barty Crouch Jr, he is supposed to be dead, safe, how can anyone be safe when the Ministry can't do their job right, Sirius is convicted wrongly, spent 12 years in Azkaban and now a Death Eater is free because someone has obviously faked his death" she muttered, Minerva sighed and nodded,

"I know Cub, but now that these things have come to light, we will be able to prove that Sirius is innocent, someone will be held accountable for Crouch, all because you were insanely strong and brave enough to fight back, you have avenged your parents in ways other ways people could only dream of, you now need to be just a little bit stronger" she said when she noticed that the Healers had arrived and had already taken the Grangers bodies back to the Wizarding Hospital. "Who is here with you" Hermione asked, she didn't want to go out there if there was too many people, she had blood all over her, she had cuts and bruises, her hair matted with the drying blood of her parents, not that she cared about her looks, but she didn't want to look weak,

"Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Auror Moody" she told the skittish young witch, Hermione blinked after hearing the Aurors name, she began to mutter,

"Moody, Moody, he said something about Moody, Alastair Moody was going to be the DADA Teacher this year and he had a plan to capture and impersonate him because was something big to happen at Hogwarts and no one would question it, he had a plan and he was sure he was going to be successful" she said, her voice scratching her throat causing her to cough at the end of her sentence,

"Who said Hermione, who had that plan" Dumbledore asked as he walked closer,

"Crouch" she said as she began to crawl out from her hiding place, she had a split lip and rapidly blackening eye, she stood up,

"Come Hermione, the Auror's want to clean the house, we need to get you checked over before they come to question you" Minerva said, Hermione nodded, her eyes staring at the wall where her parents had been thrown, she let the older witch cover her with a transfigured cloak and they dissapperated from the house.

"That girl will need to be protected Albus, she has put a target on her back and will be in much more danger than that Potter boy will be, but I will tell you that not even rookie Aurors can disarm, stun and incarcerate three Dark Wizards, she is something truly special and will need to be trained, she could be the only way we can win this upcoming war" Moody told the Headmaster, Albus closed his eyes and nodded as he looked around, "I know Alastair, gods don't I know it, but right now we need to see to our student and her needs, can you stay here and find out what you can before reporting back later" Albus asked, the retired Auror nodded and watched as the two professors dissapperated, he closed his eyes and sighed,

"That poor girl doesn't even realise the impact she has just made and how much her life is about to change in more than one way" he said to himself.

Hermione had lost conscious as soon as she got to the school, it helped and hampered her treatment, the Healer Madam Pomphrey was glad that she didn't have a head strong Hermione Granger declaring she was alright and only needed rest and was able to heal a great bulk of the young witches injuries, only problem was they had lost some time in what they could do, not wanting to make any decisions without speaking to her,

"I can't understand why we don't decide what is going to happen, the girl needs to be protected, she needs to be placed in somebodies custody, someplace and somehow the Ministry wont remove her and place her where they want her, Merlin help who they would have thought was right to look after her" she heard a gruff voice say as she woke,

"Alastair is right, I fear the Ministry will want to make her a poster girl, or worse take her into its custody, the only way we can stop that from happening is to have someone from the order Blood adopt her and why we are waiting, as you saw, the young woman is well able to protect herself, that I am sure we can all agree, she is smart and would prefer to have a choice in what will have to be done" she heard Albus Dumbledore say, she closed her eyes and let herself to calm, she knew it was the only reasonable option, it's the only type of guardianship in the Magical world that cannot be disputed, Blood.

"The Weasley's would do it in a heartbeat" Minerva said, they all jumped and turned to look at Hermione as she snorted, Hermione pushed herself into sitting position,

"Mrs Weasley has let it known that she believes that I am a bad influence on her children" she said quietly,

"Hermione I am sure you heard wrong" Minerva said, Hermione turned her deep sad eyes towards her favourite teacher,

"I would love to say that could be the case, but I received a letter from her last week, she told me I wasn't welcome at the Weasley Home this Summer as I normally am, because Mrs Weasley didn't like the fact that I had two male friends, and only a loose and Wonton girl would have no female friends, she didn't want Ginny learning from me, doesn't matter that I am the reason her son is actually passing his classes, I will go anywhere you want me to go, but I will not go to that woman's home, I will not bow to her" she said as she pulled her knees towards her chest,

"Miss Granger needs someone who would be able to protect her Albus, she has made enemies this night and will need a family who is part of the sacred 28 and has standing behind it, who is willing and able to provide her with Pureblood status and protection, someone who has the Ministry in their hand" Severus Snape said, Dumbledore turned towards the potion master,

"Severus are you implying that she should be blood adopted by Sirius Black, I think that is the best idea, with him and Remus as mates, it will give her two pureblood heavy weights protecting her, the Blacks have always had the best protection on their homes, and with Sirius about to be pardoned, the Ministry will want to keep him onside so he doesn't sue them for everything they have" he said as he nodded, Hermione had met and saved Sirius at the end of the last school year, she knew Remus, he had been the best DADA Professor she had, had.

"You'll want to do it before morning because Fudge is more than likely on his way here and will want to use her for political gain, he could very well lose his job tomorrow, but if he has her, he will believe that will not happen" Snape said, Hermione had always trusted the Potions Master, he had proven himself time and time again and no matter what Harry and Ron said, he was a good man.

"I will go floo them, they are staying Grimauld Place" Minerva said as she headed into Madam Pomphrey's office as the woman in question headed towards her,

"I have healed all the major problems so anything that is paining you right now is nothing too worrisome, so I want you to tell me if you get a head ache or something hurts alright" she told her, Hermione nodded, she placed her head onto her knees again, she knew that there was no way any of this night would be kept out of the media, everyone was going to know her parents had been killed and that she had used underage magic, she didn't know what the backlash was going to be, she got enough of it from being friends with Harry.

"Miss Granger, you know about Blood adoption yes" Snape asked as he moved closer to her, Hermione turned her head to see the Professor had taken a seat beside her bed, she nodded and swallowed,

"I will essentially be the daughter of whom ever adopts me in both blood and law, I understand how that is important Sir, but my dad, my mum, I can't forget about them" she whispered, he shook his head,

"You won't forget your parents, none of us will ever forget your parents, because they raised you, they raised an amazingly smart, strong and persistent daughter, they will probably be the first Muggles to make our history books, your parents will want you safe and blood adoption is the best possible way for that" he told her, she nodded and took a deep breath as they heard the flurry of feet coming towards the Hospital wing.

"I'll go get the potion while the Headmaster explains everything to Black and Lupin" Snape told her, she nodded as he swung his cloak and left through the office.

She didn't want to forget her parents or leave any thoughts of them behind, they had taught her, raised her, loved her, but her mother had always said not to question what fate had in store for you as she knew what she was doing, though she would forever miss and mourn her parents, she could do as her mother said and follow the path that fate had set for her, she blinked when someone called her name. "Hermione, oh you poor child, I am so sorry that this has happened to you, and it's all my fault, I should have taken my potion that night and Peter would have been captured and you wouldn't be going through this" Remus said as he rushed to her bedside, he dropped frantically by the side of her bed, his head bowed, resting on the bed beside her, his hand tightly around hers, she shook her head as she ran her fingers through his greying hair

"This would have happened with Peter there or not, it was me that was the target because they believed it would be a major blow to Harry, Peter took a back seat until my parents were killed, they laughed when they were fighting me, stating that Harry would have been able to cope during whatever this big thing that is happening at Hogwarts this year, so please Remus don't blame yourself" she implored him, he looked up, his eyes filled with tears, she wasn't surprised when they flashed with amber before returning to normal.

"Moony, love I told you that Kitten here wouldn't blame you, it wouldn't even be in her thoughts, Hermione I am so sorry this happened and we will do whatever we need to, to make sure you are forever safe" Sirius told her as he walked towards her slowly, to show he wasn't aggressive, she swallowed and took a shuddering breath.

"Fate has her reasons, my mum always said never to question to her, I'm going to mourn them, I am going to watch the men that killed them suffer in Azkaban for a long time, then make them and their side regret ever targeting me and my family" she told him, Sirius nodded and patted her bent knee.

"And we will be with you every step of the way, we want you to know that we don't want to or won't ever replace your parents, but we would be privileged to be your guardians in Blood and Law" he told her, she nodded as one side of her mouth lifted in a reluctant smile,

"I must warn you Miss Granger, with Remus being a Werewolf, you might get some traits, but you will not become a Werewolf, do you still want to press ahead" Dumbledore stated, Hermione looked from the Headmaster to Remus,

"I'm sure Remus will help me through whatever traits I get, I trust him and Sirius to protect me and teach me as I go" she said softly, Dumbledore nodded with a smile and a twinkle in his eye,

"Hermione will be able to go after the blood adoption" Madam Pomphrey told them as Snape came rushing back into the room.

"Albus, we must get this over and done with now, Phineas Black has told me that the minister has arrived in your office, and we have all of ten minutes before he heads here" he said as he uncorked the potion vial.

A new urgency started in the hospital wing, Hermione watched through half lidded eyes, Sirius and Remus placed three drops of blood into the vial, she wasn't interested in what was happening so she didn't listen to the incantation that was said while the headmaster swished his wand around it.

"Hermione dear, one shot" Dumbledore said as he handed her the potion, nodding he took the vial and tilted her head back, drinking everything in one go, wincing as it burnt her throat, she handed the vial back as her heart began to beat so frantically that she could hear t herself, her chest was tightening that she was breathing faster to make up for it, her head was spinning so she lay back in order not to throw up.

"It will pass in a moment, you are gaining the familial traits of both sides of your new families" Severus told her, she swallowed back the uncomfortable feeling that was crawling up her throat, closing her eyes tightly as the pressure built in her body until it just stopped.

"You are now a Black, Hermione I want you to take this potion it will help you rest, we don't want the Minster t question you right now" Dumbledore said as he handed her a sleeping draught, she nodded taking the potion, she didn't want to deal with the Bumbling Minister, soon after taking the potion she fell asleep.

"She looks like a Black but she has your eyes Rem" Sirius said, his mate smiled as he moved a piece of hair out of her eyes.

It was true, she was so beautiful, wild silky Ebony curls, pale blemish free skin, her eyes had been a beautiful amber before they closed, and she was smaller than she had been, another of Remus' features,

"And obviously my height, she is tiny" he said, Sirius chuckled,

"I didn't want to say that" he told him as Remus pulled a blanket on top of their new daughter, they looked up as the Hospital wing doors opened with a bang,


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Albus, where is Miss Granger, she needs to be questioned and we have found a home for her, my wife has agreed to allow me to take her in" Cornelius Fudge said.

"Cornelius, Miss Granger is now Miss Black, isn't it wonderful Lord Black and his Husband Remus Lupin Black blood adopted her" Dumbledore said, the Ministers eyes widened,

"Black, Black" he exclaimed, Sirius stood at the end of the bed, he stared at the soon to be disgraced Minister for Magic.

"Yes, Hermione had built a wonderful relationship with Remus while he worked here, she knew she needed a magical guardian and asked for him and his husband, since she knew Lord Black was innocent and both men were only happy to oblige" Dumbledore told him.

"Hermione is asleep right now and after what she had been through, I don't want to wake her, once my name is cleared we will arrive at the ministry to discuss it" Sirius said, the minister was turning a puce colour in anger and frustration, this was not going the way he wanted it to go.

"Madam Bones is working on it and you will be fully pardoned by morning, we only need to speak with your daughter about a few things, it shouldn't take too long, when you arrive at the Ministry you will need to head to the DMLE" he told him, Sirius rose a brow and nodded, with that the minister left with his tail between his legs.

"Make sure you are with her while they ask her the questions, both of you, I am sure they will call her in front of the full court" Dumbledore told them, Sirius nodded as he picked up his daughter, Remus smiled,

"We will protect her and love her" he said, Dumbledore nodded,

"I don't doubt that Remus, not one bit" he said as he watched the new family leave through the office.

When Hermione woke next, she was lying in a much larger bed than she had fallen asleep in, sitting up in the bed, she looked around the large room, it was bare, there was nothing personal about it, but the large window made the room perfect because there was a rather comfortable looking window seat, plus the large open fire with a large and soft chair in front of it.

"Hermione" she looked towards the door, she had to shake her head to clear it before she told them to come in.

Remus smiled at her gently as he walked into the room,

"This is the Heir room, Sirius had it cleared of everything before we placed you in here, we will get the things from your room, the headmaster has some of the house elves packing it up along with all the photographs and jewellery in the house, they will be brought here while we are at the Ministry, everything else in the house, Sirius has declared they be put in a Black vault at Gringotts, why don't you come down, Kreature has made some breakfast" he told her, she nodded as she pulled the blankets off.

Hermione followed Remus down the stairs of the house, she stopped and stared wide eyed at the house elves heads that were mounted on the wall.

"Sirius is looking into getting them moved, but Kreature doesn't want to disrespect his ancestors, they believe it an honour to have their heads placed there after they die" he told her softly, she nodded.

"I don't know much about house elves, do you think Kreature would answer my questions" she asked in a whisper, he smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure he will Hermione, but you need to eat first because we need to get to the ministry so then we can plan the funerals" he told her as softly as he could, her now Amber eyes filled with tears, Remus pulled her into his arms as they reached the last step.

"I know it's not ok now and it won't be for a long time, but your parents are still here with you, they will be with you every step of the way" he told her, she sniffed and nodded.

"I know, I just, they wouldn't be dead if it weren't for me, I caused this, had I not been born, they would be alive right now, getting ready for work, not on a cold slab in a mortuary" she whispered, Remus shook his head as he pulled back.

"No Hermione, this isn't on you, this is on the three men sitting in the cells at the Ministry, you are not to blame for this" he implored, she swallowed a retort, she wanted to believe him, she wanted to put it all on the men who tortured and killed them but she just couldn't, at least not yet.

"Hermione, Kitten, come down and eat, Kreature made you a chicken broth, and Minnie brought over some robes for you to wear for the ministry" Sirius called from the kitchen, Hermione bit her lip and followed Remus down.

She ate quietly, she could feel their gazes on her but that didn't matter to her right now, she wanted to finish her food and deal with the ministry, they all looked up as the floo flashed, Albus Dumbledore walked through holding a newspaper.

"I'm glad I caught you before you headed to the ministry, the daily prophet has published a story on the attack last night, Hermione it speaks graphically about your parents deaths, with comments from the healers that collected them and the Aurors that arrived" he said, Hermione frowned,

"Should they have been able to do that, I thought that there was Laws against that from happening" she asked, Sirius nodded,

"We will deal with that when we get to the Ministry, you have been wronged again and I won't stand for it" he told her, she nodded,

"I also have a letter from Mrs Weasley, she wants you to come over to their house" Albus said warily, Hermione stood quickly, pushing the chair from the table and grabbed the robes from beside her before heading out of the kitchen, Remus and Sirius looked at the headmaster confused, he sighed and took a seat at the table.

"The Weasley's were our first choice to adopt her, but Hermione informed us of a letter that she had received from Mrs Weasley about the plans for Hermione to go over to their house during the summer, Mrs Weasley believed Hermione to be a loose woman and didn't want her around, she thought that because Hermione had two male friends that she had to have loose morals, and didn't want Hermione there to influence Ginny" he told them, neither could believe that the woman would think let alone voice it to Hermione herself.

"And now why is she telling Hermione she can go over" Remus asked, Albus handed over the prophet,

"Because of how Hermione is portrayed in the article" he said, Remus looked at the paper.

14 year old captures 3 death eaters.

Last night the house of one Hermione Granger was attacked, the young witch was awoken to 3 death eaters attacking and torturing her parents, Drs Mary and Thomas Granger, from Auror reports Peter Pettigrew whom was believed to have been killed by the hand of the now Pardoned Sirius Black had wanted to sexually abuse the young witch, but he and his fellow attackers did not expect the young witch would fight back, a fight that ended in the capture of Peter Pettigrew, now confirmed death eater and betrayer of the potters that faithful night, Evan Rosier, confirmed Death Eater and Bartimus Crouch Jr, confirmed death eater and recently believed dead prisoner of Azkaban, an investigation is now being carried out on how his death was faked.

Miss Granger is now believed to be in the custody of Lord Sirius Black and his husband Remus Lupin Black. A ministry official has been recorded in saying that the magical power that was recorded from the witch is on level with Albus Dumbledore and this is before her magical maturity.

It is also recorded that her intelligence is as high if not higher than Rowena Ravenclaw herself.

Our hearts are with Miss Granger as are our many thanks, this young woman has been traumatised by did everything she could to make sure these horrid men could not do this to anyone else again, an Auror at the scene repeated the words Miss Granger said when help finally arrived.

I know I shouldn't have used magic, but after what they did to my parents, I couldn't let them go, I don't care what you decide, I know what I did was right.

More to follow as Miss Granger is expected at the Ministry later today.

Remus looked up at Dumbledore.

"I can't understand how that would change Mrs Weasley's mind" he said, Dumbledore nodded and sighed.

"Mrs Wesley is looking for potential matches for her youngest two, she want Ginevra to marry Harry and Ronald, well at first it was Lavender Brown as her father had opened that new store in Diagon Ally with plans for one in Hogsmead, now that Hermione has been deemed the best possible choice of witch, she wishes for them to marry" he said, Sirius scowled,

"I thought she was a decent woman, I'm not hiding this from Hermione, I don't think she wants anything to do with the family again anyway" he said,

"Now I understand where Ron gets if from" they all jumped as Hermione's voice came from behind them.

"Hermione" Remus said, she stood there looking everything a Black witch, Beauty, poised but also something dangerous within her, you could see it in her eyes too.

"I don't want to hold the whole family accountable for her, but I won't forgive it and I will try to be civil but I will not have any respect for tha woman" she said, Sirius shook his head,

"I wouldn't expect you to Kitten, I am even thinking of telling Harry not to go to the Quidditch World Cup" he said, she furrowed her brows,

"They're going to the world cup" she asked, Remus looked at his husband.

"We will be too Hermione" he said quickly, she blinked and shook her head.

"It's just Harry didn't tell me that in any of his letters, it doesn't matter now anyway, I want to get this over with and lay my parents to rest, I can worry about petty things later" she said, Dumbledore nodded,

"Quite right Miss Black" he said as he stood, the other two followed suit.

"We will be with you through it all" Remus told her as he handed her floo powder, she smiled slightly and followed Sirius and Dumbledore through the floo to the ministry.

She had never been to the Ministry before, as she stepped through the floo, she could tell it would be intimidating for those who hadn't faced much adversaries before in their lives.

"Take a deep breath, take a second to take it all in and when you are ready we will go" Remus told her, she nodded and reached for his hand.

"I'll be fine with you and Sirius with me" she told him, he tightened his grip on her hand just a little.

"Sirius is known for being a joker, but he will protect those he loves" he told her as she guided her towards Sirius and Dumbledore.

"Apparently they were waiting for us, courtroom 3" Sirius said, Hermione swallowed and nodded, a courtroom, she hadn't done anything wrong, why was she being treated like a criminal.

"You are not in trouble Hermione and don't let them make you feel like you are, if you want to be angry be angry, show them that you are angry, don't hide it from them, if you don't like their question let them know, if you are angry at their question let them know" he told her as they stood outside of the courtroom.

"Won't I get into trouble" she asked him timidly, he took her face gently in his hands,

"Trouble, you won't get into any, you are here for one reason only and that is to tell them your side of what happened last night, you have every right to be angry, you have every right to show it" he told her, she sniffed and nodded.

"Lord Sirius Black, Remus Lupin Black and their daughter Hermione Black" the court announcer called, Hermione had only noticed that Dumbledore was gone.

"Miss Black, I understand you have been through a traumatic event, but we need to get your side of things" Minister Fudge said from his seat, Hermione turned to look at him.

"I can understand that you need to know what happened and what I saw, but I don't understand why I need to feel like a criminal sir, I know that this is usually done in Madam Bones office, I can't comprehend why I am standing in front of a whole courtroom" she said, Sirius grinned from his seat, the Minister began to stutter.

"Hehem, excuse me, but who are you to talk to our minister like that" Hermione looked towards the woman overly dressed in pink.

"Dolores Umbridge, Under Secretary" Sirius told her softly, she nodded and furrowed her brows at the woman, who seemed to just want to push herself into the conversation.

"I didn't speak to him like anything Madam Umbridge, I just asked why I am not being questioned by the head of the DMLE alone and am standing here like I am one of the criminals of war, I have don't nothing wrong" she said.

"You did use underage magic" Umbridge said with a sickly smile on her face, there was a low murmur through the courtroom.

"Yes, yes I did, I did so to save my life, I did so to capture the barbarians who tortured and murdered my parents, what was I supposed to do, was I supposed to let them rape and then kill me" she asked slowly and calmly, the woman she was speaking with turned her head with her nose thrown up in the air,

"You have to answer for your actions Miss Black, you broke the law when you used your magic underage" she said, Hermione couldn't believe the audacity of the woman, she was under secretary, turning to the paling Minister she furrowed her brows,

"You placed this woman in charge of your civil services, she seems a little to blood thirsty to have any care for the public, I know you have questions, but I have my own, like how did Barty Crouch Jr fake his death and end up at my house last night, how did an innocent man not receive a trial and spend twelve years in Azkaban for something he didn't do, how come I am not being questioned through the proper procedure, I want to know why Evan Rosier was not even on your radar, I want to know why a junior member of this government is allowed to even have anything to do with what happened and why she is looking at me like I am the dirt that stained her favourite shoes, my actions were those of self-defence, my actions may have come too late for my parents but I do not regret the actions I chose to follow, I want to know why Healers and Aurors commented on my families case when they are required by law to keep silent, these are the questions I have" she said, Umbridge was about to retort.

"Will you be quite Dolores, Miss Black we are not here to interrogate you, and I apologise that you feel that is what is happening, I have questioned your three attackers and we have a great understanding of what happened last night, I just wished to ask where you learned your feat of magic, as I understand that type of magic isn't taught at Hogwarts until fifth year" a woman asked,

"Madam Amelia Bones" Sirius told her, she nodded to the older witch,

"That is true Madam Bones, but it is no secret that I have a love of learning, I am years ahead of my class mates in the school curriculum, and once I find something interesting I read more about it, learn as much as I possibly can, we came face to face with Pettigrew at the end of the school year last year, I didn't like the feeling of being helpless and did everything to learn the theory of the spells and the workings of the magic" she told the older woman.

"Miss Black, do you believe that you can pass your owls if you were to take them now" Mr Preen, a man that Hermione knew from the paper asked,

"I feel very confident that I would get O's in all of my subjects if I were to take them Mr Preen, I don't mean to sound cocky, but it is what I do" she told him, he nodded,

"What are you thinking Arnold" Madam Bones asked,

"Well if Miss Back took her owls this summer, she could do her 6th and 7th years this year and take over as DADA professor next year, from what I can see is that she is the most adequate choice", he said, Hermione was shocked as many of the others began to nod in agreeance,

"With all due respect sir, I would still only be 16, I would still be underage and still be unable to use my magic outside of school" she said, he nodded and looked towards the minister.

"It's been done before, we just have to remove her name from the trace register before she leaves today, we can all see that she is a responsible young witch, she only used her magic when it was needed and even apologised for using when she really needed t, she has an amazing talent and our youth need to be taught right" he said, Umbridge felt that it was only right that she opened her mouth and pipe in.

"You can't be serious, Minister this young witch shouldn't be rewarded for breaking the rules, she used underage magic, she should be expelled" she almost shrieked, Hermione looked at the toad like woman, the minister shook his head,

"Dolores will you please be quite" he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose, Hermione had to bite her lip to stop herself from smirking.

Hermione almost checked out for the rest of the conversation, she was thinking about her parents, she knew they wanted to be cremated and she also knew that they wouldn't want a large funeral, her aunts hadn't had anything to do with the family since before she was born, and she had no grandparents, it would be just her, she closed her eyes thinking about her parents practice, their patients would need to be alerted,

"Miss Black, Miss Black" blinking she shook her head,

"Are you alright Hermione" Sirius asked as he bent down to look her in the eyes, she swallowed and nodded,

"Yes, Yes, I am fine, I am sorry, I was thinking about my parents and everything that needed to be settled in the muggle world" she said softly.

"Not acceptable, you are in the presence of the minister for magic, you should have your full attention on what he has to say" Dolores Umbridge stated, Hermione stood fast, her hair blowing out behind her as she lost control of her emotions.

"My attention, My attention, let me tell you something you stupid bigoted woman, I am a 14 year old who spent most of last night staring at the bloodied and battered bodies of the people who loved and raised me, and now, now I am standing in front of people I feel are looking down at me for surviving, I am not going to apologise for surviving, I will not apologise for making sure to catch my parents killers, you Dolores Umbridge have shown me something today, as long as people like you work in our ministry it's going to fail in looking after its people, bigoted people who find themselves to be far more important than they actually are" she said, Umbridge stood and slammed her hand on the table in front of her.

"Excuse me, excuse me you are nothing, nothing but a want to be pureblood, your making such a big deal over the deaths of two muggles, at least it wasn't purebloods that were killed then it would really be a tragedy" she exclaimed, Hermione couldn't believe this woman had actually said that.

"Dolores" Fudge shouted as shocked as the court room fell into silence, Hermione was furious as she looked at the woman, it was obvious the woman disliked her because she had been born a muggle born, and hated her more now that as a pure born muggle born was now legally the heir to one of the main magical families.

"Minister Fudge I will not be in the same room as this heartless troll and that might I say is insulting trolls, Madam Umbridge, my parents may have been mere muggles to you, but they were wonderful, loving and supporting parents, when I found out I was a witch, they could have turned me out in fear of the unknown, but they showed me that it didn't matter that I was different than them, they were proud of me, proud that I was given such a gift, they let me know that they loved me as much as they did before they had found out, possibly more as their love for me grew daily, Minister I will not continue with this interview until that woman is removed" she said as she stared the pink toad down, Umbridge seemed absolutely furious at the suggestion.

"Don't worry Miss Black, had I known her prejudice views I would not have appointed her to such a position, Aurors please remove Madam Umbridge from the courtroom, bring her to my office and be sure to make sure she does not move from the seat she is placed in" the Minister said through clenched teeth.

"Minister can we get to the fact that the Healers and Aurors spoke to the press about that night in great detail, I have been told that there are laws that prohibit that, what are you going to do about it" she asked, the Minister sighed,

"I will have an investigation started and those who spoke out of turn, will be dealt with, I am sorry that it has prolonged your agony and I will make it as quick as possible to lessen the pain" she told her.

It was only then that Hermione realised that there were reporters in the court room, she couldn't imagine what was going to be reported in the evening paper, and Umbridge was escorted from the room.

"Miss Black I apologise for this, we only asked you here to find out if you were alright and if there was anything else that you wished to tell us, we also want to promise that we will keep you up to date on our investigations" Minister Fudge said, Hermione nodded and bowed her head,

"I have one request sir, Peter Pettigrew fears Dementors to the extreme, I would hope that he would be placed in an animagus rat cage nearer the Dementors" she said, he nodded with a raised brow,

"We can do that Miss Black, is there anything else you wish to add to his rap sheet" he asked, she twisted her lips and shrugged,

"It's nothing big, Pettigrew killed my familiar, and apparently Crookshanks took an immediate dislike to him and had tried to eat him a few times" she said, everyone had to hold in the chuckles that wanted to escape.

"You have been through a terrible time Miss Black, we can't tell you how sorry we are, and the fact that ne f those who was at your house was actually a prisoner, we will be sending some money as compensation and will pay the funeral expenses, whomever helped him escape will be dealt with, that I promise" Madam Bones promised.

Hermione walked with her two new fathers by her side, cameras were flashing, reporters were calling out questions, all she could do was walk forward, her head was buzzing, nothing sounded familiar, everything was just coming together and she couldn't make anything out.

"Miss Black I will send out a schedule for your exams, you now are able to use magic as you wish, I wish you all the luck and prosperity in the world" Mr Preen told her, she bowed her head in thanks,

"Thank you sir, I hope I don't let you down" she said as she walked away with her fathers.


End file.
